A very mild week of weather has anglers scrambling on the Winnebago system to find adequate ice to fish on. The main lake has little ice viable for fishing activity, with the exception of the back bays and some shoreline opportunities. Many of the feeder creeks and rivers have warmed up, and some have lost their ice sheet. There are still open water spots on Lake Winnebago, and the ice sheet is not fully developed yet. Lake Poygan’s ice sheet has been the best on the system, and is still supporting activity as of Monday.
Due to the deterioration of the ice sheet, viable areas are jammed packed with anglers, leading into the Holiday Week.
On Lake Winnebago, Asylum Bay has been slow, but with some spurts of activity. Generally spikes on green glow jigs have been the best option. Perch have been on the small size, crappies have been a little bigger.
At Millers Bay, the reports I have received is that the area is extremely slow. There were some comments made about the lack of weeds in the bay this year, possibly causing the slow conditions.
The Black Wolf launch was vacant on Monday. The ice and access point has become “iffy” with the rain, and no one was venturing out of this launch. Prior to the weekend some better sized pan fish had been reported, but quantities were only average.
In Fond du Lac, The harbor has remained a viable option. Perch, when caught, have been on the larger size. When there is heavy overhead pressure, the fish shut down. Try to pick non-peak periods to fish this area.
Lake Poygan continues to have a solid ice sheet as of Monday, with about 8-10 inches of ice, the rain has left many puddles on the surface, so expect to get wet, until some cold weather arrives. Walleyes can be found on the lake with jigging raps and small spoons. Blue and gold are dominant colors.
There has also been some excellent activity on Lake Poygan for white bass over the past week.
In Little Lake Butte des Mortes, a fun Northern Pike bite has been occurring on large shiners. Unfortunately, the ice was breaking down quickly on Monday, and this area maybe done for a while. There also has been an excellent crappie bite in this area also. The crappies exclusively want Rosie Red minnows, and are not interested in waxies or spikes.
Just a quick note that Fox Lake in Dodge County has been very good for both walleyes and crappies. Ice depths were in the 8 inch ranges, but check with the local bait shops as to current conditions before venturing out. This is good advice for all area lakes, as conditions are changing hourly.
Myfishingpartner.com thanks you for your support of our site. There are plenty of fishing opportunities throughout the area, but you may have to move from the normal community spots to find them. The weather forecast calls for above freezing temperatures most of the week. We wish you Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas. Stay on top, and stay dry this week.
